A Trip to the Zoo
by alyssialui
Summary: Lucius and Draco spend the day at the zoo. AU. young!Draco. nice!Lucius. father-son bonding.


_A/N: Lucius and Draco spend the day at the zoo. AU. young!Draco. nice!Lucius. father-son bonding._

_Submission for:_

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): **Charms Assignment #7 - Write about any small animals whether they come from a wand or not. Prompts: Draco Malfoy, third person PoV._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

><p>Draco held his father's hand as he paid his galleons to the smiling young man behind the glass. He had already been told to calm down or they wouldn't stay very long but Draco was finding it hard to do. How could you stay calm at the zoo?<p>

"Father, where are we going first?" the five year old asked as they stood among the crowd. Witches and wizards walked past them in all directions, all following happy and chattering children of their own. A pair of children ran up the path to Draco's left and he wondered if his father would let them go that way.

Lucius looked down at his son from the map the young man had given him of the zoo. To their left was the hippogriff and threstral enclosures. Straight ahead was the aviary with all the owls and other exotic birds. The path to the right led to a small dragon enclosure and a small petting zoo for children. What would Draco like the most?

Draco was already tugging his father to the path on the left and Lucius happily obliged. The hippogriffs and threstrals it was.

**...oOo...**

"Why is this pen empty?" Draco asked with a frown as he stood before the enclosure.

Lucius looked away from the dark, skeletal creatures before he remembered Draco couldn't see the creatures, but he could. The things he had done, he didn't want to dwell on those today while he spent the day with his son. Today was a day to make memories not relive them.

He quickly pulled Draco over to the hippogriffs. He took some food from the caretaker and handed some to Draco to feed the animals. Draco laughed as the hippogriff ate from his hand.

"His tongue feels rough," Draco laughed. Lucius smiled before holding out a handful of food to the one near Draco's. He pulled his hand back suddenly when he felt the animal's tongue on his palm.

"Rough," Lucius agreed with a grimace as he wiped his hand on his handkerchief.

Draco just giggled as he pulled his father away in a different direction. Off to the aviary.

**...oOo...**

"In here stinks!" Draco complained loudly as they walked beneath the birds. Lucius just chuckled as he led his son through the cage of exotic birds. There were many there from all parts of the world. Most were brightly coloured and came from the tropics.

Draco ran up to a woman who was taking a large red, blue and yellow parrot out of a cage. "Would you like to touch him?"

Draco nodded nervously as the woman held out the large bird on her arm. He reached out slowly to run his hands over the beautiful feathers. "Soft," he remarked.

Lucius reached his arm out and the woman placed the bird on his sleeve. He ran a hand over the bird's head as he let Draco continue petting it. "Soft," he agreed.

**...oOo...**

They stopped by the pen of a young Hungarian Horntail. Lucius grabbed his son back as he started to climb onto the barrier of the dragon enclosure. Though the zoo had put protective enchantments around the edge to ensure no one would fall in, Lucius couldn't be too careful with his little dragon.

A dragon tamer was currently in the enclosure feeding the baby Horntail. Draco watched in fascination as the man took a large slab of meat and threw it into the air with his wand. The baby Horntail would jump off the ground and flap its small wings to snatch the food out of the air before it landed.

"Wicked!" Draco shouted as he watched the baby dragon swoop down to catch another piece.

"Wicked," Lucius agreed. Dragons were definitely fascinating creatures.

**...oOo...**

Lucius stood to the side as he watched Draco run around with the other children in the small petting zoo. They had normal animals like sheep and deer, but there were also a few magical animals like kneazles and puffskeins. Currently Draco was petting a large fluffy sheep twice his size.

"Father, look," Draco said as he ran up to him with his hands balled up.

Lucius leaned forward as Draco revealed a small, puffy animal. It resembled a small mole with black fur and a long snout. It was eagerly sniffing little Draco's hands, his little claws tickling the boy's palms.

"Tiny," Draco said as he passed the animal over to his father.

Lucius handled the little creature delicately. It nuzzled the finger he held out to it. "Tiny," he agreed.

**...oOo...**

After a long day at the zoo, Lucius took his son home. He stepped out of the Floo with his son in his arms, his head on his shoulder.

"How was the zoo, darlings?" Narcissa said as she rose from her seat in front of the fire. She had been unable to come along today as she had business to attend to in Diagon Alley. Lucius had insisted he still take Draco so the two could bond together.

Little Draco yawned against his father's shoulder as he looked sleepily at his mother. In his other hand, he clutched a toy hippogriff his father had bought for him at a gift shop. "Great," he said with as much excitement as he could muster.

Narcissa chuckled and kissed her son's forehead. Then she looked to her husband. He smiled and captured her lips in his. "Great," he agreed.


End file.
